The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-02-25
MILE OF LIQUID FIRE.
The Stream From Mauna Loa
Into the Ocean.
A BRIEF GLIMPSE INTO HADES
Vivid Scenes At the Burning Noun
tain-The Horror of the Tor
nadO Crash-Gene raj News.
The Mauna Loa.

SAN Francisco, February "a Major
Benson of the United States Army, has
visited the coast where the flow of lava
entered the sea. He thus describes the
scene witnessed by him after nightfall
on January 29th: with tho increased
darkness, point after point of fire was
developed along the entire course of the
flow, until the elimination was reached
at 2 80 am, when
LIQUID FIRE BELCHED FORTH
from the crater far above to the
height of hundred and fifty feet"
Major Benson travelled to the head
of the flow on the 3lst. He describes it
as follows: SIN the centre of great
mass of rough. black lava was the
crater of about lbs feet in circumfer-
ence, around which circle of living
fire formed at intervals. About 300
yards below the crater, the molten lava
poured forth III streams from assures in
the mountain side. Numerous other
smaller craters also emitted smaller
streams of lava. At times the entire
group OF craters
SPIT FORTH HUGE TONGUES
of fire simultaneously, followed by i'm
mense streams of lava. These demon
STATIONS continued at intervals for
some time"
Reverend T. &. Bishop, well known
in the scientific world, visited the scene
February 1st, after the rush of fire was
over. He writes as follows: The
northwest side of the flow presents a
straight solid embankment forty feet
high and in some places a halt mile
wide. The flow oVerreaches the origi n al
coast line from 200 to 500 feet, making
thirty acres of new land. One can per
haps partially imagine how that tide of
fire and rocks nearly mile wide rolled
for week over the shore into the deep
and convulsive ocean. have no pow
ers of Imagination to conceive the awful
splendor. of the downward charge of that
MILE-BRoAD DELUGE OF FIRE
and the herror of the tornado clash and
the roar with which that vast wall of
rolling rock and cinder pressed forward
over the land, filling up on the plain,
and crashing into the sea. saw but
the dead and dying remains. dreadful
dark and silent. " Mr.. Bishop states
that the present flow is much greater
in quantity than that of 1886, be vice
the length of the latter I'D
of greater depth He also calls l.
ton to the interesting volcanic It
observed in steaming around the soL b
point of Hawai-. This was the re-
markable surface layer of yellow ochre
or similar matter many feet in depth.
He believes this to be layer of yellow
ashes discharged from some eruption
probably thousands OF years ago. Re- !
ferrlng to this discovery, he states
I'VE are thus enabled to determine the
remarkable and important fact that at
a recent period, although prehistoric,
there was an explosive eruption of
yellow cinder which covered at least
HUNDRED SQUARE NILES
with yellow ashes several feet in thick
ness. L hereby file my caveat for this
discovery in case no one has received a
patent of prior date.
Judge u. II. Hitchcock writes under
date of February Sd from Hilo: 1--WE
are experiencing slight shocks almost
every day or night. A very heavy fog
of volcanic smoke hides Mama Loa
from here. If there were no further
volcanic action the smoke would all
have been blown to the sea by the strong
winds which have been blowing the
past week. As it is, l feel as though
the end Of the flow is not yet"